STORY: Just weeks after a dramatic purge of China's top general, the CIA is moving to capitalize on any resulting discord with a new public video targeting potential informants in the Chinese military.

The U.S. spy agency on Thursday (February 12) rolled out the video depicting a disillusioned mid-level Chinese military officer, in the latest U.S. step in a campaign to ramp up human intelligence gathering on Washington's strategic rival.

It follows a similar effort last May that focused on fictional figures within China's ruling Communist Party that provided detailed Chinese-language instructions on how to securely contact U.S. intelligence.

CIA Director John Ratcliffe said in a statement that the agency's videos had reached many Chinese citizens and that it would continue offering Chinese government officials an "opportunity to work toward a brighter future together."

Last month, China's defense ministry announced that Zhang Youxia, second-in-command under Xi as vice-chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC), was under investigation, the highest-profile removal of a senior Chinese military leader in decades.

The short CIA video posted to its YouTube channel appeared aimed at exploiting domestic political fallout from Beijing's years-long crackdown on military corruption that has hit the upper echelons of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) beyond Zhang.

"Anyone with leadership qualities is bound to be subject to suspicion and ruthlessly eliminated," the fictional officer in the video says in Mandarin. "Their power is built on countless lies," he says, referring to superiors.

The CIA has said it is confident that the online campaign is penetrating China's "Great Firewall" internet restrictions and reaching the intended audience.

"Our past videos reached millions of people and inspired new sources," a CIA official told Reuters on condition of anonymity, without providing details.

The CIA has been investing heavily into countering China and has tried to rebuild its spy network in the country after Beijing crippled its reach by killing or imprisoning numerous U.S. sources between 2010-2012, according to reports.

American officials say China's spy agencies have worked tirelessly to recruit current and former U.S. employees, and in recent years Beijing has published accounts of what it says are U.S. spy rings it has uncovered in China.

The high-stakes spy games are part of an escalating military and technological rivalry that many observers deem to be a new form of cold war.

DESCRIPCIÓN DE IMÁGENES

VIDEO SHOWS: CIA VIDEO TARGETING POTENTIAL INFORMANTS IN THE CHINESE MILITARY

EDITORS PLEASE NOTE: MUSIC NOT CLEARED FOR USE. PLEASE CHECK WITH THE APPLICABLE COLLECTING SOCIETY OR RELEVANT RIGHTS HOLDERS IN YOUR TERRITORY REGARDING CLEARANCE OF ANY SOUND RECORDINGS. MANDARIN SUBTITLES ADDED AT SOURCE

RESENDING WITH DETAILED TRANSLATION IN SHOTLIST

SHOWS: UNKNOWN (RELEASED ON FEBRUARY 12, 2026) (CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY - Editorial Use Only. Music not cleared for use. Please check with the applicable collecting society or relevant rights holders in your territory regarding clearance of any sound recordings)

1. VARIOUS OF A FICTIONAL MID-LEVEL CHINESE MILITARY OFFICER ARRIVING AT WORK; THEN AT HOME WITH HIS WIFE, WATCHING NEWS COVERAGE OF THE MILITARY ON TELEVISION WHILE HIS DAUGHTER PLAYS ON THE FLOOR; LATER, ARRIVING AT A PARKING LOT AT NIGHT, REMAINING INSIDE HIS CAR, TURNING ON A PORTABLE COMPUTER, AND INITIATING A CHAT WINDOW AS A VIDEO WITH MANDARIN NARRATION PLAYS

TRANSLATION AS FOLLOWS WITH TIME CODES

00:05 - 00:07 This is the world I am familiar with.

00:07 - 00:10 Defend the country and protect the people.

00:10 - 00:14 However, day after day, the truth becoming more and more evident obviously.

00:14 - 00:17 What the leaders are really protecting

00:17 - 00:19 is the self-interest only.

00:19 - 00:22 Their power is built on countless lies.

00:22 - 00:26 But now, walls of these lies are gradually crumbling.

00:27 - 00:30 In the end, what’s left for us is to clean up the mess.

00:31 - 00:36 Anyone with leadership qualities is bound to be subject to suspicion and ruthlessly eliminated.

00:37 - 00:40 I cannot let these madmen to shape my daughter’s future world.

00:44 - 00:50 History tells us that those who win without resorting to was are the greatest victors.

00:52 - 00:57 But those who have never experienced the ravages of the war are eager for us to rush into the battle field.

01:01 - 01:07 I am a warrior, my duty is to protect the people and defend my country.

01:08 - 01:14 Choosing the path is my way of fighting for my family and my country.

2. PHRASE IN MANDARIN ON BLACK BACKGROUND: "The fate of the world lies in your hands."

3. CIA LOGO